title: Measurement of tritium in the free water of milk : spotting and quantifying some biases and proposing ways of improvement.
abstract: As one of the three natural isotopes of hydrogen, tritium is ubiquitous and may potentially be present in any water or organic molecule that constitutes a biological matrix. Milk is one of the most frequently monitored foodstuffs in the vicinity of chronic release of radionuclides, as it is a very common food product and also because it integrates deposition on large areas of grass or crops at a local scale. Different parameters have been studied to assess their impact on the reliability of tritium measurements in the free water of milk. The volume of the sample, the technique used to extract the water and the level of dehydration modulate the results but in different ways: dispersion of results and under- or over-estimation of the tritium activity. The influence of sample storage and preparation has also been investigated. Methodological improvements of tritium measurements in the free water of milk are proposed. An original fractionation effect during distillation of milk is also described.
authors.affiliation: CEA Valduc, 21120 Is-sur-Tille, France; UMR CNRS 6249 Chrono-Environnement/LCPR-AC, Université de Franche-Comté, 16 route de Gray, 25030 Besançon Cedex, France; UMR CNRS 6249 Chrono-Environnement, Université de Franche-Comté, 16 route de Gray, 25030 Besançon Cedex, France. Electronic address: pierre.legoff@cea.fr.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Le Goff
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Duda
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guétat
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rambaud
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mavon
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vichot
authors.forename: Pierre-Marie
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Badot
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fromm
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005504:Food Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D005507:Food Contamination, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D005612:Freeze Drying / Q000379:methods; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods; D014316:Tritium / Q000032:analysis*; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D014316:Tritium
keywords: Environment; Free water; Isotopic fractionation; Tritium measurement